The Baker and The Chef

I miss Summer. It's only early November, but I already miss it. My absolute favorite thing to do is have a barbecue. But whether I'm cooking for a crowd or my family, I always look for a way to use the grill. And where there is a grill, you'll surely find hamburgers of some kind. Burgers are the quintessential American food. I guess because you can top them any way you want so everybody has their chance to, dare I say, "Have it their way".

I suppose you could say they are one of my vices. I don't think I've ever made the same burger twice. No joke. There is always something I change up. I've never written down a burger recipe. And I've made them hundreds of times. To this day, that is probably my biggest challenge as a chef. I tend to cook with what I have on hand. Maybe that will be my New Year's resolution?!

So that being said, use what you have on hand. Change it up a bit as you see fit. One thing that I have been partial to lately, though, is the "mini-burger". In this recipe, I use mini Hawaiian bread for buns. Yum! The chipotle mayo gives it some kick, and the arugula adds a nice peppery element that iceberg lettuce just doesn't have. The bacon give it smokey-ness, the cheddar adds some sharpness, and the caramelized onions impart a little sweetness. I'll admit, I had more than "my fair share" of these burgers. Maybe that's why I like mini burgers so much...................

About Us

As kids we both had a love of food and grew up watching Julia Child while all our friends were watching Sesame Street. We both decided to go to culinary school where we met, married and had three kids. Now he's an executive chef and I'm a stay at home mom spending part of each day working on the bakery I'll someday open.